FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – With warmer weather, the Boston Marathon, Easter Sunday, and the celebration of 250 years since the start of the American Revolution all happening in a single weekend, a New England Revolution win was simply the cherry on top of the cake in Foxborough on Saturday night.
Strikers Leo Campana and Ignatius Ganago scored their first goals of the season, as New England took down New York City FC, 2-0. The goals were also the newcomers’ first as Revolution players – scoring their inaugural goals in front of more than 20,000 fans at a raucous Gillette Stadium.
After a lively first half saw the Revs create plenty of pressure in the attacking third, the breakthrough finally came in the 43rd minute when Campana slotted a deflected shot past NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese. The finish came off an assist from Ganago, his first in a Revolution jersey. Campana started for the first time since March 8 after spending three games sidelined with a hamstring injury, making his return as a second-half substitute last weekend in Atlanta.
“I thought he did really well. His quality showed,” said head coach Caleb Porter. “It’s great to get two goals out of the two strikers, hopefully the first of many.”
It didn’t take long for Ganago to find a goal of his own, putting the ball in the net just three minutes into the second half.
“A guy like Ganago, he’s just kept grinding. He’s played well in most games. He’s been in good spots, he just hasn’t finished,” explained Porter. “I actually sat down with him and Leo individually on Friday and I showed them, in Leo’s case, all of his goals in MLS. I just went through about three minutes of goals, reminded him of his quality. Then I went through with Ganago, all his goals in Ligue 1 to remind him of his quality.
“I think sometimes even good players, they need to remember they can hit the back of the net. They need permission to watch themselves and I gave them permission and we watched their goals. Then they went and did it.”
Saturday’s goals didn’t just seal a Revs win, they delivered a bit of revenge to NYCFC, who had taken the win over New England earlier in the season. For Campana and Ganago, the goals were more than just their first of the season – they were their first at home and as Revolution players, a moment that affirmed exactly why they were brought to New England: to get the Revs on the scoreboard.
“The win tonight was really important because we lost against them last time, and we could have done better,” said Ganago. “So today, we were just like ‘We have to win the game, we have to win against them.’ The first leg against them, we played good, but we didn’t win, so it was sort of like a revenge. We got our revenge today.”
Adding even more history-making plays to the night, Ganago’s goal came off a pass from midfielder Carles Gil, who with that helper, became the club’s all-time leader in regular-season assists (74), passing club legend Steve Ralston.
“He’s obviously one of the best players in the league, and as far as a pure chance-creator, assist guy, he’s the best guy I’ve coached,” said Porter when asked about the captain’s performance. “He’s a great pro and a great guy. You just see how hard he works, it’s very rare to have a guy like him in our league who has so much quality, but is so humble.”
With wins in three of the last four matches, New England is steadily building momentum after a slow start to 2025. Saturday’s three-point performance at home was a key result as the team now heads into a stretch of road games. With Campana back in the starting XI and Tomás Chancalay returning to action after a long recovery, the Revs attack is finally finding its stride.
New England will head south to Charlotte next weekend, when they’ll look to continue getting on the scoreboard and take down Charlotte FC, who currently boast a perfect 5-0-0 record at Bank of America Stadium.
